1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information reproducing and recording apparatus and method for reproducing and recording information. In particular, the invention relates to an information reproducing and recording apparatus and method for copying music, video, or like software having a copyright so as to enable protection of the copyright.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, distribution media of music, video, and like software have become diverse and complex. On the other hand, digital information such as music, video information, and computer programs does not deteriorate even if it is repeatedly copied to and recorded onto recording media. Therefore, it is an important issue how to protect software having a copyright.
For example, as shown in FIG. 1(A), if information having a copyright that is recorded on a CD (compact disc) 17 is reproduced therefrom by a reproducing drive 16 and recorded on a recordable MD (mini disc; trademark of Sony Corp.) 20a by a recording drive 20a, the information having a copyright that is recorded on the CD 17 is copied to and recorded onto the MD 18. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1(B), it is possible to reproduce the information thus recorded on the MD 20a by mounting it in the reproducing drive 16 and copying and recording it onto a new MD 20b that is mounted in the recording drive 18.
By repeating the above process, the information having a copyright that is recorded on the CD 17 can be copied to and recorded onto many recording media MD 20a, 20b, . . . Protecting the copyright is an issue to be addressed.
As for the copyright issue, in the SCMS (serial copy management system), a method is employed in which when information having a copyright is copied and recorded via a digital interface, copying and recording of the information is permitted only once as long as it is judged to be intended for personal use.
By employing the SCMS, as shown in FIG. 2(A), information having a copyright that is recorded on a CD 17 can be reproduced therefrom by a reproducing drive 16 and copied to and recorded onto a DAT (digital audio tape) 21a, for example, by a recording drive 18. However, as shown in FIG. 2(B), it is prohibited to reproduce, by the reproducing drive 16, the information thus recorded on the DAT 21a and copy and record it onto an MD 20a by the recording drive 18.
Similarly, by employing the SCMS, as shown in FIG. 3(A), information having a copyright that is recorded on a CD 17 can be reproduced therefrom by a reproducing drive 16 and copied to and recorded onto a HDD (hard disk dive) 22a, for example, by a recording drive 18. However, as shown in FIG. 3(B), it is prohibited to reproduce, by the reproducing drive 16, the information thus recorded on the HDD 22a and copy and record it onto an MD 20a by the recording drive 18.
As described above, by employing the SCMS, the use of a recording medium to which information having a copyright has been copied and recorded from an original recording medium is limited to personal use and a further copying and recording operation on another recording medium is prohibited. The purpose of copyright protection is thus attained.
However, the SCMS has inconvenience that a user cannot record information having a copyright from an original recording medium to a HDD, perform necessary editing, record edited information onto an MD which is convenient for portable use, and use it personally.
The SCMS has another problem that although it can limit copying and recording via a digital interface, information that is copied to and recorded on a recording medium can further be analog-recorded, in which case resulting copied information is somewhat deteriorated though.
On the other hand, in recent years, MD changers have come to be used. If an MD changer 23 is mounted in a recording drive 18 and information having a copyright that is recorded on a CD 17 is reproduced therefrom by a reproducing drive 16 and recorded onto an MD changer 23, recording is automatically performed onto MDs of such a number as the MD changer 23 can accommodate. This may cause a problem in the copyright protection.
In general, a copying and recording operation from a CD to an MD, for example, in home is intended to record information onto a recording medium that is superior in portability and use that information personally. Similarly, a user""s operation of editing information recorded on a HDD and then copying and recording edited information onto an MD, for example, is intended for personal use of information that has been edited so as to match the user""s taste. Each case does not infringe the copyright.
On the other hand, an act of infringing a copyright is to perform a copying and recording operation on many recording media of the same kind at one time.
An object of the present invention is to provide an information reproducing and recording apparatus which resolves the above-described problems.
Another object of the invention is to provide an information reproducing and recording method which resolves the above-described problems.
The invention provides an information reproducing and recording apparatus including first inherent information detecting means, second inherent information detecting means, history information storing means, judging means, and copying control means. The first inherent information detecting means reads out first ID information relating to an author that is recorded on a reproduction-side recording medium. The second inherent information detecting means reads out second ID information relating to a recording-side recording medium that is recorded on the recording-side recording medium. The history information storing means stores the first ID information and the second ID information so as to correlate those with each other. The judging means judges whether to permit or prohibit an operation of copying and recording information having a copyright that is reproduced from the reproduction-side recording medium onto the recording-side recording medium based on the first ID information detected by the first inherent information detecting means and the second ID information detected by the second inherent information detecting means while referring to the history information storing means. The copying control means permits or prohibits execution of the copying and recording operation in accordance with a judgment result of the judging means.
The invention also provides an information reproducing and recording method including a first inherent information detecting step, a second inherent information detecting step, a history information storing step, a judging step, and a copying control step. The first inherent information detecting step reads out first ID information relating to an author that is recorded on a reproduction-side recording medium. The second inherent information detecting step reads out second ID information relating to a recording-side recording medium that is recorded on the recording-side recording medium. The history information storing step stores the first ID information and the second ID information so as to correlate those with each other. The judging step judges whether to permit or prohibit an operation of copying and recording information having a copyright that is reproduced from the reproduction-side recording medium onto the recording-side recording medium based on the first ID information detected in the first inherent information detecting step and the second ID information detected in the second inherent information detecting step while referring to information stored in the history information storing step. The copying control step permits or prohibits execution of the copying and recording operation in accordance with a judgment result of the judging step.
According to the invention, while a copyright-infringing copying and recording operation on a recording medium on which information having a copyright is recorded is prohibited, a copying and recording operation intended for personal use that does not infringe a copyright is allowed by accurately judging whether a copying and recording operation is of such a kind.